So here’s a million dollar question – how can anyone buy from an online ladies fashion storeand make sure they get a perfect fit, every time? It’s the single biggest problem that’s both dogged and dominated online fashion retail ever since the idea went mainstream. Buying online is easy, but it’s no secret that one of the most important parts of the clothing-purchase process is of course trying things on. And as you’re not inclined to buy anything from a store if it doesn’t fit perfectly, how can you possibly expect to nail that perfect fit with something you buy online?

Well, contrary to popular belief it is in fact possible – it doesn’t have to be overly difficult either. The key being to never take things for granted or just hope/assume what you buy will fit you as this tends to be a recipe for disaster. Instead, take heed of the following five tips and chances are you’ll find it pretty simple to pick up great clothing online without having to worry about a poor fit:

First of all, take a full set of personal measurements and be brutally honest about them. Most leading online fashion retail stores will of course list their garments in standard female dress sizes, but may also go one step further with more precise measurements of various key elements of each garment. Where and when this is the case, you can use your own measurements to ensure what you buy is precisely the right size for each area of your body, rather than something that fits like a dream around your waist though more like a nightmare at the hips.

2 – Do Your Homework

Ever heard the claim that ‘Size 12’ means something different to every clothing manufacturer and store on Earth? It’s actually pretty true, which is why you’ll no doubt have at least three different clothing sizes in your wardrobe that all somehow fit you the same. Now, the beauty about web retail is the fact that you don’t have to find these things out the hard way. Realistically, you need only do a little homework and see what others have said about the clothes on sale at any given store to find out how they measure up size-wise. Chances are if their take on a 12 is smaller or larger than the average, you’ll be able to find out ahead of time.

3 – Be Size Sensible

Another pretty important tip to follow along the way is that of being size-wise – especially when buying online. For example, if you’re somewhere in-between a size 10 and a size 12, common sense dictates than when buying online, it’s the 12 you should go for. It’s generally advised to err on the side of caution when it comes to sizes as should you find something is slightly too big, you can easily return it. By contrast, try wearing something too small and you risk ripping or damaging it, which will then mean you’re stuck with it.

4 – Check All Returns Policies

Speaking of returns, it’s absolutely of the utmost importance that you check out the brand’s returns policy in full before even thinking about buying anything. These days, it’s borderline impossible for any brand or store to get away with selling anything that isn’t covered by some kind of returns policy. However, things vary quite spectacularly when it comes to things like who pays the shipping, whether things need still be in their original wrappings, with or without tags on and so on and so forth. All of this must by law be clearly disclosed in the brand’s terms and conditions, so be sure to check out how fair they are with returns before making a purchase. And of course the longer you have to make up your mind, the better!

5 – Give Yourself 24 Hours

Last but not least, don’t necessarily go with your instinctive first-impressions the very moment your tear your purchases out of the box. It’s generally a much better idea to leave those tags well and truly in place for at least 24 hours or so, to give yourself sufficient time to try them on a dozen times and see what you really think about them. It’s not uncommon to have a totally different view on things after a day or so, which is why it’s good to exercise a little patience in this instance. It won’t kill you to hold out a day or two longer, so give yourself plenty of time to make a final decision.